Cecil County Budget: Moore Boosts Exec Spending, Cuts County Council $ for Advisers; Employee Health Costs Explode

NEWS ANALYSIS Cecil County Executive Tari Moore’s new proposed budget would boost her own office’s spending by 3.2 percent while cutting the County Council’s current budget by 4.2 percent, especially in accounts that could enable the Council to hire independent advisers to review or challenge her policies. In addition, county employees have a “Cadillac” health care program that provides such privileged benefits that the plan could face federal tax penalties in the next few years unless benefits are scaled back to more reasonable levels, according to the county’s Human Resources director. In Moore’s new Fiscal 2016 budget proposal, county employee health costs are projected to rise 31.6 percent. [CORRECTION: County Director of Administration Al Wein advised Cecil Times that the County Executive does not receive health care benefits. Our initial report said she was entitled to those benefits, while County Councilors were barred from benefits. Wein says both legislative and executive branch elected officials do not get benefits.] In her budget plan, Moore cut 4.2 percent from the County Council’s proposed operating budget, focusing her cuts on areas, such as professional consulting services, that might enable the Council to challenge her policies or receive independent advice on key issues affecting […]